restless

adjective

ˈrest-ləs How to pronounce restless (audio)
Definition of restlessnext
1
as in uneasy
lacking or denying rest the worried mother spent a restless night, tossing and turning in bed for hours

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in anxious
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings the figure skater was visibly restless as she waited for her scores to be posted

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of restless Joy added that alcohol can worsen dehydration, and excessive caffeine can leave you restless. — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 19 Aug. 2026 John Heminger, a photographer with a long face and restless energy, asked me. — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 Sacramento was crawling Saturday as crowds packed Bugtopia, winding between tables and clustering around displays with the restless motion of a human-sized ant colony. — Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Also in that courtroom that first day is his brother Jack (Noah Centineo), a more visibly restless and outgoing soul compared to Cody’s protective reticence. — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for restless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for restless
  1. uneasy
  2. anxious
  3. troubled
  4. disturbing
  5. unsettled
  6. tense
  7. restive
  8. nervous
Adjective
  • Kurt's key takeaways Hearing AI on a 911 call would make a lot of people uneasy.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Falwell correctly sensed vulnerability in the uneasy alliance between rationalism and Christianity that had prevailed since the eighteenth-century Enlightenment.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of uneasy
Adjective
  • History suggests that anxious allies who are not reassured by their more powerful patron will invest in their own defense.
    — JENNIFER KAVANAGH, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026
  • For me, Sliman was pouring water on a dormant seed anxious to sprout.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of anxious
Adjective
  • The engaging biopic tracks Davidson's troubled upbringing to finding a way as an adult to deal with his condition and discover needed confidence.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Watching myself in the insightful new doc Boorman and the Devil, about the troubled 1977 sequel to The Exorcist, was a very strange experience.
    — Britina Cheng, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of troubled
Adjective
  • Last awards season, the gossip around town, salacious and disturbing in equal measure, was that hotel suites all over Hollywood were populated by tailors taking in gowns coming straight off the runway.
    — Marti Noxon, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The disturbing situation came to light after a tree fell on the home during a storm.
    — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of disturbing
Adjective
  • The unsettled partisan lines around this issue have allowed anger, rooted in decades of deindustrialization and public austerity, to flourish in the electorate.
    — Dan Kaufman, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2026
  • South Florida’s turbulent weather since the weekend that killed a mother and her daughter, spawned an Everglades wildfire, and mixed heat with storms looks to remain unsettled — including for Friday’s Miami Dolphins home game.
    — Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of unsettled
Adjective
  • After hours of argument that at times grew tense, a hearing Thursday ended without a ruling from Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis, and the Tates were returned to jail.
    — Jonny Hallam, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
  • In Danbury, protesters have had tense confrontations with ICE officers, who responded at least once with pepper spray, according to activists.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of tense
Adjective
  • This restive edge showed up as a guiding principle on the Eagles’ full-length records, at least temporarily.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Even as details are ironed out, the law positions this NATO member to play a stabilizing role in a restive region.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of restive
Adjective
  • Nvidia's forecast comes at a time when investors remain nervous about capital expenditures from large tech companies, the circular nature of financing deals and the return from AI investments.
    — Kai Nicol-Schwarz,Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Why bats can pose a rabies risk Rabies spreads through the saliva or nervous tissue of an infected mammal, usually through a bite.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of nervous

Browse Nearby Words

restiveness
restless
restlessness
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Cite this Entry

“Restless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/restless. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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